“Felt like I must finish her” - Smilla Sundell says a fire lit up inside her after Natalia Diachkova sat her down in the second round
After getting sat down by Russian knockout artist Natalia Diachkova in their ONE Fight Night 22 headliner, teen phenom Smilla Sundell knew that it was time to kick things into second gear.
That's exactly what Sundell did in the second round, swarming her opponent and delivering a barrage of brutal strikes and knees to the body, forcing the referee to step in and stop things with only one tick left on the clock.
"What a fight and what a week! Thanks for all your love and support when I missed weight, so much love from all over the world, fighters, opponents, everyone who texted me," Sundell wrote on Instagram. "About the fight it was good I showed everyone I did what I supposed to do. Had to start after her kick that got me to the ground. I just felt like I must finish her and so I did!"
The win moved Sundell to a perfect 5-0 under the ONE Championship banner. Unfortunately, she is no longer the ONE women's strawweight Muay Thai world champion after failing to make the 125-pound weight limit in the official weigh-ins— a mistake she plans to rectify in the near future.
Smilla Sundell wants her strawweight title back
Addressing her weight miss during the ONE Fight Night 22 post-fight press conference, Smilla Sundell made it clear that she has every intention of reclaiming the belt she lost on the scale. She is also holding out hope that the promotion will introduce a flyweight division for her to compete.
“I really want my belt back," Sundell said. "Yeah, that's what I want. I will get it back, I think. But I also want another weight division.”
Do you think 'The Hurricane' should have the chance to earn back her 26 pounds of gold?
If you missed any of the action, ONE Championship fans in the United States and Canada can watch the ONE Fight Night 22 replay on demand via Amazon Prime Video.